2008 Woodie Awards
Website offers database of exams
Marissa Lang
Issue date: 5/12/08 Section: News
"We have no desire to help people cheat," said co-founder and Virginia Tech alumnus Patrick Gartlan. "The old SGA STARS center has already recognized that once you put the exam in a public forum, it's not fair if only two kids have access to it and the rest don't. We're just leveling the playing field."
LoPresti added that teachers are encouraged to sign up for their own account to monitor the tests that students upload.
"The best way to prevent cheating is for the teachers to get on there and see what's up there themselves," he said. "The more old-school teachers who are used to recycling old tests, well, they're worried, but really this is forcing them to become better teachers - don't use that test again from 20 years ago."
Because students can upload their tests to add to the already large database of old tests, members of the SGA raised questions and concerns about Koofers increasing the opportunity for academic dishonesty. But the idea of Koofers was not "a hard sell" to the University Honor Council, and the Koofers founders said they had spoken to and gotten the go-ahead from officials in the Office of Student Conduct prior to launch.
But the idea of Koofers did face some resistance from the SGA, who feared their involvement would imply sponsorship of the website, SGA legislator Jenna Aidikoff said.
"We didn't want to align with a company, but we wanted to do what was best for the student body," she said.
After Koofers approached the SGA for support and their old test bank, the university-based website OurUMD followed suit, also requesting access to the thousands of tests which used to be held in the STARS Center.
Aidikoff, who sponsored a bill in support of the website but later withdrew it, said that while the idea behind Koofers was a good one, the SGA was uncomfortable with "picking a company."
Ultimately, she said the SGA decided it would grant access to both companies in the order in which they asked for the tests.
"Koofers came to us first, so they could have the exams first," she said. "Ultimately we're really just excited that [the old exams] are being used again."
The STARS Center, which previously cost the university thousands of dollars in student activities fees to operate and had limited hours due to understaffing, closed down in 2005 due to lack of resources.
"The STARS Center is the perfect example of what we're trying to do, and the SGA endorsement forces people who think we're the end of the world to stop and think that since the SGA helped us out, we must be working in the best interest of students," Gartlan said. "People tend think this is the end of the world, it's not - we're the way of the future."
langdbk@gmail.com
LoPresti added that teachers are encouraged to sign up for their own account to monitor the tests that students upload.
"The best way to prevent cheating is for the teachers to get on there and see what's up there themselves," he said. "The more old-school teachers who are used to recycling old tests, well, they're worried, but really this is forcing them to become better teachers - don't use that test again from 20 years ago."
Because students can upload their tests to add to the already large database of old tests, members of the SGA raised questions and concerns about Koofers increasing the opportunity for academic dishonesty. But the idea of Koofers was not "a hard sell" to the University Honor Council, and the Koofers founders said they had spoken to and gotten the go-ahead from officials in the Office of Student Conduct prior to launch.
But the idea of Koofers did face some resistance from the SGA, who feared their involvement would imply sponsorship of the website, SGA legislator Jenna Aidikoff said.
"We didn't want to align with a company, but we wanted to do what was best for the student body," she said.
After Koofers approached the SGA for support and their old test bank, the university-based website OurUMD followed suit, also requesting access to the thousands of tests which used to be held in the STARS Center.
Aidikoff, who sponsored a bill in support of the website but later withdrew it, said that while the idea behind Koofers was a good one, the SGA was uncomfortable with "picking a company."
Ultimately, she said the SGA decided it would grant access to both companies in the order in which they asked for the tests.
"Koofers came to us first, so they could have the exams first," she said. "Ultimately we're really just excited that [the old exams] are being used again."
The STARS Center, which previously cost the university thousands of dollars in student activities fees to operate and had limited hours due to understaffing, closed down in 2005 due to lack of resources.
"The STARS Center is the perfect example of what we're trying to do, and the SGA endorsement forces people who think we're the end of the world to stop and think that since the SGA helped us out, we must be working in the best interest of students," Gartlan said. "People tend think this is the end of the world, it's not - we're the way of the future."
langdbk@gmail.com
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Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Christopher Conroy
posted 5/12/08 @ 5:32 PM EST
I haven't tried the service out, but I'd like to point out that the Math department offers a testbank of past exams on their website: http://db.math.umd. (Continued…)
Kon the Lion
posted 5/12/08 @ 10:03 PM EST
I tested out the site, not much different from department test banks and "ourumd". This service is bound to fail unless students are willing to anonymously submit old study guides, homework, tests etc. (Continued…)
Kon The Lion
Kon the Lion
posted 5/12/08 @ 10:04 PM EST
I tested out the site, not much different from department test banks and "ourumd". This service is bound to fail unless students are willing to anonymously submit old study guides, homework, tests etc. (Continued…)
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